Holding their cards close to their chest, Netflix secretly hits box offices big this past thanksgiving break, debuting its Knives Out sequel Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, nationwide in 600 theaters. Left to speculation as Netflix intends to conceal all official box office numbers, according to Deadline, Netflix buried its competitors, estimated bringing in $13.3 million over the span of five days.
Now, this isn't Netflix's first theatrical pre-streaming release. Their action title Red Notice starring Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot, premiered in 750 theaters and grossed an estimated $1.25M to $1.5M in their three-day opening. Despite housing, A-list stars Red Notice significantly underperformed and seemed to prove Netflix's inability to expand beyond streaming. Opening in a more limited run, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery had the advantage of premiering in significant theatrical chains, including AMC, Regal, and Cinemark theaters. With the added bonus, Glass Onion destroyed its predecessors, grossing $9.3M within three days.
Courtesy of US Weekly
Projected to total $15 million by Tuesday, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery averaged about $19,000 per theater. In comparison, following these numbers, Variety expressed that if Netflix expanded its theatrical release and officially shared its box office numbers, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery could have ranked third in domestic box office charts, following Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which grossed $65M from 4,258 cinemas over the five days, and Disney’s Strange World, which grossed $18.5M from 4,174 cinemas over the five days.
For some, Netflix's sudden theatrical success is attributed to its thanksgiving competition. When thinking of thanksgiving most people imagine a time for giving thanks, spending time with family, friends, and loved ones, and indulging oneself in food. Some even enjoy group activities such as going to the movies and watch watching a film together. However, when the options are between Devotion, a Korean Navy fighter pilot movie, or Bones and All, a cannibals’ love story, people tend to choose a lighter-hearted version, a murder mystery.
After Tuesday, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will be taken out of theaters and released on Netflix on December 23, 2022. While this might come as a surprise to some, seeing the success the film is having within theaters, at the end of the day, Netflix is in the business of adding subscribers and not selling tickets.
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